Body Concepts Bicycle Race Team – Race Report: by John Kretschmann
Race: 1st Annual El Dorado Hills Cyclocross
Date: 2012-10-13
Category/Field Size: Men 45+ B – Field Size 45
Photos: Race photos can be found on Tim Westmore’s website: El Dorado Hills CX Gallery
Race: The 1st Annual El Dorado Hills Cyclocross race was this past Saturday and what a race it was. I wasn’t even sure I’d be able to ride as my wife & I were heading up to Tahoe to celebrate our anniversary. However, the Master B race was early enough (10am) that I was able to sneak out in the morning:) Ron & myself represented BC in the 45+ category. I don’t think Sean raced.
They started all the Bs together (45 riders) and the course starts right off with a handful of sharp, technical corners and then a barely ride-able sand pit. It was really chaotic with riders un-clipping, falling down, etc. Somehow both Ron and I were able to navigate our way through to the first climb where things finally began to thin out. I managed to pass a bunch of riders here but the leaders had already built up a pretty sizable gap (a hole shot is key in this race). There was only one set of barriers but it was at the foot of another climb and this thing just got harder & harder with each lap. Once you get off the hill things flatten out but there’s a bunch of tricky corners, some pavement and another sand pit.
This is one of those races where it seems like you’re always having to push – there’s hardly anywhere on the course where you can back off and catch your breath. It was a very aerobically challenging race that also required fairly good technical skills. In that regard, it was a really good course because it really didn’t favor any particular rider.
The two leaders were so far off the front that I never saw then but I ended up in a good battle for 3rd place with a rider from Sho Air (Ryosei Kaneko). On the 3rd-to-last lap Ryosei was right behind me when we got to one of the sand pits. I almost endo’ed and he passed me. I was able to recover and on the 2nd-to-last lap I was right behind him and in the same sand pit he almost went down and I managed to get by him. I was able to hold him off on the last lap for 3rd. Ron also had a great race, finishing only a couple riders back in 6th.
Results: Men B – 45+ USAC Race Results for El Dorado Hills Cyclocross
- 2nd – John Kretschmann (3rd overall)
- 4th – Ron Faulk 4 (6th overall)
Conclusion: This was a really good, local race and was very spectator friendly. Lots of nice grass and great viewing without having to walk all over the place. They also had a BBQ and some decent swag, etc. Even if you don’t plan to race, you should keep this one in mind when it rolls around next year.